Eye scanning is a high-tech security solution that has only made sense for small companies thanks to physical limitations. But new advances may bring this sci-fi tech to the public. Here's how.

Manufacturers of eye scanners that identify people by their irises tout the technology as the 21st-­century equivalent of fingerprint analysis. But scanners have been limited by their 6-inch range, as well as their sensitivity to movement and obstructions (such as stray lashes). Now Honeywell has built a Combined Face and Iris Recognition System (CFAIRS), which extends the range of iris scans to 16 feet.

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CFAIRS shoots a high-resolution video image of the iris, then cross-references it with biometric data­bases. "The software flattens the iris, unfolding it into a two-dimensional speckle pattern that looks like a standard bar code," says Dan Sheflin, Honeywell's vice president of advanced technology for automation and control solutions. At an airport, the 2.5-foot-tall machine would pan and tilt 120 degrees to survey travelers filing into customs. "This looks through masks and glasses, scans at off-angles and captures people who are moving," Sheflin says.

"You can be walking down a corridor and not even know it's being done."

Local and federal law enforcement agencies are creating standards for collecting biometric data. For now, the tool's utility is limited by the depth of the databases.